


Caring Too Much

by calie15



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-30
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 01:56:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/986279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calie15/pseuds/calie15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity was important to Oliver, that was all that mattered.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caring Too Much

Felicity turned in her seat and watched him as he came in and began unloading his gear. When he said nothing she broke the silence. “You killed him.”

“Not the first,” Oliver responded in an even tone, not meeting her eyes as he set everything in its place, his movements precise. “He had it coming Felicity.”

“But,” she started and stood, “you said you were going to bring him to the police this time.”

“Plans changed.”

Felicity look at Diggle for help, pleading with him silently.

Diggle turned to Oliver, watched the man avoid any eye contact so that he wouldn’t have to have this conversation. It wasn’t going to be that easy. “Tell her Oliver.” Oliver looked up at Diggle then, stopping. “Tell her what he said when the comm went out.”

Oliver grit his teeth, glaring at Diggle, warning him to keep his mouth shut. He could feel the vein in his neck ticking from the tension in his body.

And Diggle waited, he wanted to let Oliver tell her, because that’s the way it should have been.

“Tell me what?” Felicity asked, glancing between the two men, noticing the way they glared at one another in a silent stand off. “What happened? The comm was only down for less then a minute. What could have happened?”

Another silent moment past, where Oliver said nothing. So Diggle spoke. “He said he’d be free from the police and come after the Green Arrow’s pretty blond friend next.” He glanced at each of them, noting the anger in Oliver’s eyes, the shock in Felicity’s, then he turned and ascended the steps, leaving them to sort it out between themselves.

Felicity waited, watching Oliver as he turned to a table and bent over it as grasped the edges. He said nothing though. “You shouldn’t have...You said-.”

“Don’t Felicity,” Oliver cut her off and shook his head. Slowly, he turned to face her. Her brow was drawn together in concern and her hands clenched in front of her. “I know what I said. I said I’d keep you safe. That’s what I did.”

Felicity watched him turn from her, brushing her off again. Steeling herself against his fury, she stepped forward and grabbed his arm, stopping him. When she pulled at him he spun around. Intense eyes stared down at her. Felicity knew Oliver Queen all to well. She knew how the anger, the adrenaline built up in him, needing to escape in any form, usually violence. Except he couldn’t turn that violence on her. So instead he was tense, glaring, angry. “You shouldn’t be killing people because of me.”

“Felicity,” he started, saying her name slowly as he stepped forward to tower over her, “he knew you, he knew to go after you. That wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.”

He turned away from her and stalked away, making it quite clear that he had nothing else to say on the matter. Except she wasn’t done. “There is always another way! Don’t you walk away from me!” He stopped then, his shoulders tensing at her words, and for a moment she was afraid. Not that he’d hurt her, but Oliver’s wrath, even without physical violence, was pretty intimidating. She’d gotten better at standing up to him, but he he’d had a lot more practice in intimidating people.

She was being ridiculous. She was angry that he didn’t leave her life in danger, that he didn’t let a criminal, a murderer live. Turning again he took slow measured steps towards her, doing his best to reign in his temper. When he finally came to a halt his body was only inches from her own. He had no objection to using his height to his advantage. “Your life is more important to me then his. I’m okay with the decision I made.”

Again he turned away from her. Felicity pursed her lips and sighed deeply as she fisted her hands, frustrated at his inability to understand why this wasn’t okay. “You can’t just kill everyone that threatens a friend Oliver.”

At that he stopped. Oliver closed his eyes and sighed. She still didn’t get it. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised. Slowly, he turned to face her. She was distressed by what happened and he knew she hated being the cause of him killing someone. He hated that she would place that blame on herself. “This isn’t your fault,” he stated. 

The fact that he knew what she felt, that he was standing there and trying to ease her conscious instead of his own had a momentarily speechless.

“Felicity, I know I can’t kill anyone that threatens my friends.” For a moment he stared at her, his heart pounding in his chest as he struggled to say what needed to be said, to make her understand. “But you and I, we aren’t just friends, you know that.” He watched the emotions play over her face, the surprise as her eyes widened just slightly and her mouth parted, the confusion. Then she looked away, seeming as if she was unable to meet his eyes at his confession. “I’m sorry, but leaving is something I can’t do.”

At his apology she looked up at him again, noticing the pained look in his eyes, the hurt. There he stood, not apologizing for the life he took, but apologizing for breaking his word to her. Hearing him confirm that he thought of her as more then a friend, that he returned her romantic feelings in some way, left her speechless. This time when he turned away she couldn’t find the words to stop him.


End file.
